Washington State Ferries is replacing the aging and seismically vulnerable Colman Dock in Seattle to maintain its critical role as a regional multimodal transportation hub.
Key project elements include: a concrete and steel trestle, main terminal building, entry building (with retail space), elevated walkway between the terminal building and the passenger-only ferry and replacing the overhead passenger walkway on the northernmost slip (slip #3). It also adds a bicycle entry and holding area north of Marion Street plus stairs and elevators to connect the facility to Alaskan Way. It also mitigates for additional overwater coverage.
One of the final pieces of the new terminal is to replace slip three's vehicle transfer span -- the overwater section you drive across to access the ferry. On July 8, slip three will close and remain closed until early 2025 as crews replace it.
Vessels serving Bremerton and Bainbridge will share slip one throughout the work. When both vessels are at the terminal, we’ll use slip two for the Bainbridge boat.
After six years of construction, the new terminal at Colman Dock opened in summer 2023. The Marion Street Bridge over Alaskan Way easily connects it to Seattle city streets.
The new passenger building, opened in November 2022, fully faces the water with 4,230 square feet of windows looking onto Elliott Bay and the city. Clerestory windows above bathe the space in natural light. Passengers have more than 20,000 feet of space to spread out as they await the ferry to Bremerton or Bainbridge Island. Construction began on the terminal building in 2017.
Features of the new ferry terminal:
See formal dedication celebration held on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023: video (courtesy of TVW).
This project adds two new plazas along Alaskan / Dzidzilalich Way, and we asked two local tribes to submit names for them. WSF consults with Tribes that are federally recognized with adjudicated treaty rights in the waters where our projects are located. In this case, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the Suquamish Tribe are both federally recognized and have treaty adjudicated hunting, fishing, and gathering rights in the waters of Elliott Bay. By naming these plazas in the traditional Lushootseed language, we can honor the legacy of the tribes and bring their history to this new facility.
The entry building for the Seattle terminal at Colman Dock as seen from Alaskan Way. Project elements include new concrete and steel trestle, terminal building, entry building, elevated walkway to the passenger-only ferry, and new overhead passenger walkway on slip #3.
Washington State Ferries is replacing the aging and seismically vulnerable Colman Dock in Seattle to maintain its critical role as a regional multimodal transportation hub.
*While avoiding and minimizing new overwater coverage was a key goal of the project, the new facility will increase the overwater footprint by approximately 5,400 square feet. Mitigation for this increase in overwater coverage will be achieved by removing overwater coverage from a neighboring WSDOT-owned pier.
We selected Hoffman-Pacific, a Joint Venture, as the General Contractor/Construction Manager in fall 2015 and they have committed to maximizing opportunities for DBE firms. WSDOT has established a DBE goal of 9% of the project’s Maximum Allowable Construction Cost (MACC).
Summer 2017-2024 (terminal remained open throughout construction).
